what we do

We solve problems. Our clients come to us with a wide variety of communication and information management challenges, and we integrate strategy with technology to create positive change. We’ve produced hundreds of successful outcomes through the creation of websites, corporate intranets, mobile platforms, and online applications.

philosophy

Our world is filled with an overwhelming array of rapidly changing devices, philosophical approaches, and technical advancements – all designed with the hopes of creating new ways to connect people. Yet our society continues to become more fragmented and solitary. While we respect the role technology plays in how humans relate, we believe that technology should serve to promote human interactions, not distract from them. We believe that true innovation comes from respectfully de-emphasizing technology and encouraging people to engage and interact with each other.

Everything we do is grounded by three guiding principles:

focus

We are intentional about everything we do. Our focus allows us to eliminate distractions and concentrate on truly efficient and effective interactions.

simplicity

The foundation for great interactions is based on simplicity. Simplicity ensures that technology serves to support the user’s goal, not get in the way.

empathy

Empathy for the user’s experience and needs drive effective solutions. Without empathy, focus and simplicity are merely misguided guesses.

beliefs

about our clients…

Our clients are not trophies we hang on the wall, victories we strive to win, or challenges we must conquer. Our clients are human beings with real challenges to solve. Our clients are people we engage with on a frequent basis, and they deserve our respect, honesty, and dedication. Our solutions create significant impact, but it is the journey we take with our clients that sets us apart.

about innovation…

True innovation creates positive change. Innovation may alter the world. It may be groundbreaking or game changing. But even simple, invisible, or seemingly inconsequential innovation can make a significant difference. We seek to innovate in all areas, big or small, and we’re never content with doing something that’s just good enough.

about user experience design…

User experience design is much more than aesthetics. It’s more than creating user flows, personas, defined interactions, content architecture, wireframes, or color schemes. User experience design is strategic. It is fundamental to nearly everything with which humans interact. Without intentional user experience design, true innovation is nearly impossible.

about our language…

We don’t speak technical jargon. We don’t speak business jargon. We can, but we don’t. We speak in normal, straightforward language that is easily understandable and relational. We interact with clarity and simplicity, and aren’t impressed with the latest key phrases or trendy terms.

about work/life balance…

Make no mistake about it: we work hard. We love what we do, and our passion drives us. But moderation is important to enhance creativity and influence problem solving. We strive for a healthy balance of focused work and rest, and we take time to clear our minds and prepare for the next major breakthrough.

approach

We are intentional about everything we do. The experience we’ve gained through launching hundreds of websites and applications gives us the ability to predict challenges, needs, and roadblocks before they happen. No matter the project size, we are as intentional about our process as we are about our solutions.

1 Discovery Research

Fully understanding the problem we’re trying to solve positions the entire effort for success. We ask challenging questions. We talk to a wide variety of stakeholders and users. We conduct focus groups. We perform usability and field tests. We conduct technical and content audits. We establish benchmarks. We confirm that we understand the needs, the environment, and the desired outcomes. Then, we communicate what we’ve learned so we can be sure we’ve got it right.

2 Strategy Development

With an established problem to solve and a passion for innovation, we work closely with our clients to define the best approach to create positive change. We consider the cultural and environmental impact, the necessary business processes and interactions, the governance requirements, the communication goals, the content approach, the technical and mobile landscape, and the available resources to create a realistic strategy for improvement. Then we define success so we know exactly what outcome we’re aiming to achieve.

3 User Experience Design

Through user experience design, we get to see innovation take place. We consider everything we’ve learned and the strategies we’ve defined with our clients, and then we start creating. We examine user and information flows. We create personas. We storyboard desired interactions. We define information architecture. We create wireframes and prototypes. We test options. And then we iterate until we’re confident we’ve created the best possible solution.

4 Solution Development

We take advantage of the most current technologies, methodologies and approaches to drive creativity and push innovation. Yet, we remain conscious of the fact that our clients must use and maintain what we create. We strive to use existing platform configurations first, and only customize when necessary. Once we’ve developed the solution, we test it until we know it works flawlessly.

5 Launch

When the development is done, the content is in place, and testing is complete, we launch the solution and verify all functions and interactions work as planned. We provide a detailed knowledge transfer that includes system documentation, administration support, and other resources that aid ongoing management and maintenance. If needed, we even provide launch communications support, on-site training, post-launch usage measurement, and ongoing technical support.